Karma
by Aoi Nikko
Summary: A sadistic game yields the prize of a lifetime—power and wealth beyond one’s wildest dreams and a chance to cheat the crippling caste system set by the city’s ruler.


**Disclaimer: **_Kingdom Hearts does not belong to me. I just borrow them for a short time to write amusing stories._

_Wow, I am on a roll, eh? Welcome to another KH story of mine. This one does not belong to anyone in particular, so I hope it turns out okay. I am sure you will let me know if it is crap, yes? Well, anyway, I had better warn you all of the content in case you do not know, right?_

_WARNING: THIS DARK, VIOLENT AND GRITTY FIC WILL CONTAIN YAOI. IF YOU DO NOT LIKE THIS, OR IF YOU HAVE A SENSITIVE STOMACH, YOU MAY WANT TO CLICK THE BACK BUTTON **NOW.** FLAMING IS A COMPLETE WASTE OF TIME, FOR IT WILL ACCOMPLISH NOTHING ON YOUR PART._

_**Summary**: (R/S, all other pairings secret!) A sadistic game yields the prize of a lifetime—power and wealth beyond one's wildest dreams and a chance to cheat the crippling caste system set by the city's ruler. Many participate in the game, but no one has ever won…_

_Hello! I admit this fic is a little…different then what I have previously written. It is very dark, and may stay that way through the duration of the story. The idea I had for it previously was dramatically different; it was closer to my usual tone. However, in researching my heritage, a new idea came to me, and so I have decided to write this. I warn you; again, this fic is very dark and will become quite graphic, so I seriously advise you to leave this fic if it is not suitable to your tastes. I will not be upset, honest. _

_Still here? On with the fic! Enjoy!_

**Karma**

Prologue: Setting The Wheels In Motion

**I have a proposition for you.**

10:58 pm.

The cool silver rays of the waxing crescent moon glint almost ominously off the brightly polished sign of Destati, a new club rapidly gaining fame in the harsh city of Paragon. It is a place where those unfortunate enough to be born into the low rungs of the city's harsh caste system go to escape the confines of their dreary existence. For the low-born, Destati is a paradise, a place to go to feel alive in a city that thrives on death…for those beautiful, clever, or desperate enough. For, as with all things in Paragon, everything carries a price…

And Destati is no exception.

In the alleyway beside the club, a young man with a small, boyish frame sprints down the narrow path, clutching a small box of ivory inlaid with gold in his right hand. The moonlight makes the pure white sleeveless turtleneck he is wearing seem almost silver against the dark crimson of the long, baggy pants he is wearing slung low on his hips. As he nears the end of the alley, he runs a hand through his mane of messy brown spikes, trying and failing to make them somewhat presentable. He shoves the box into his pocket, taking a breath before exiting the alley and walking calmly towards the pair of bouncers that guard the entrance of Destati.

**Just a small test. A simple thing, really.**

11:00 pm.

One of the bouncers is leaning against the building, actually dozing, most likely bored from the lack of action the night has offered. The other one, dark haired with a silver chain around his neck, still looks as though he harbors some hope for excitement. He turns immediately as the young man approaches, crossing his arms and doing his best to look intimidating.

"So, you here for the 'everybody gets in' hour?"

The young man nods, moving to step past him and into the club. The bouncer moves to block his path, narrowing his eyes at the brunet as he looks him over, taking note of the plain copper bracelet on the young man's left wrist that proclaims his place in society.

The small male is a _mena_, someone suitable for the lowest work, but better then a _pela_ or slave. He is nicely dressed for his station, so he must be 'sponsored' by someone in a higher caste, probably as a pleasure companion. The thought brought an idea to the bouncer; he himself was a _liega_, middle-class. Only one step higher, but still better then the small mena could ever hope for.

"Sorry, but you missed it by five minutes." The bouncer then smiles lecherously, eyes glittering at the nervous look in the wide, sapphire blue eyes of the young man. "But I tell you what. You do me a little favor, and I'll let you slip through."

The young man frowns and shakes his head, moving to try and get around the bouncer again. The burly man lays a heavy hand on the brunet's slender throat, turning him around and pushing him forward.

"Why not? You wanna get in, don't ya? If you're real good, I'll even get you a private corner." The bouncer turns to his companion, whistling sharply to wake him up. "Yo Wakka, I'm gonna take a quick break, watch the door, okay?"

The other bouncer blinks sleepily at the young man in his companion's grip. "Hey wait, that's Sora, he can-"

"Just watch the door, I'll be back in a—"

The wind is suddenly knocked out of the burly _liega_, as the young man named Sora sends an elbow into the relaxed muscles of the unprepared bouncer with a strength that did not fit his small frame. The bouncer releases the brunet immediately as he doubles over, and Sora takes the opportunity to slam a knee into the burly man's face, causing him to fall backwards, dazed and surprised, to the ground. Sora steps around him to walk into the club, giving a silent snort of disgust as he passes the man who had thought to use him. Before he can reach the door, however, the other bouncer, Wakka, stops him with a hand heavy with gold rings on his arm.

"Hey, I know he's a perverted blockhead, but next time, let me handle it."

With a soft smile, Sora nods, brushing the red-haired bouncer's hand off his arm.

"You can go. Just don't beat up anyone inside, ya?"

Sora grins at Wakka and nods again, walking past him to enter the doors of the club. As they shut behind him, he flips a shiny object into the air and deftly catches it- a gold ring that had adorned Wakka's middle finger. He tucks that into his pocket along with the silver chain taken off the dark haired bouncer when he had introduced the man's face to his knee.

**If you can get to me before midnight, I will make it more then worth your while…**

11:15 pm

The music of the club is loud with a sensual beat that causes Sora's hips to sway as he struts across the floor, commanding the gazes of several patrons as he does so. He ignores them, running a hand through his hair absentmindedly, his every movement in perfect time with the music.

Casting his eyes around the interior of the club, Sora's already smug grin spreads as strong arms slip around his waist, pulling him back against a firm chest. He leans back, eyes closing as he allows himself to enjoy the feel of the warm body behind him.

"I was beginning to think that you had run into some trouble…"

Sora turns to face the one who has embraced him—his lover and partner Riku, the only thing in this god-forsaken city that is worth anything to him. He smiles as Riku lowers his face to his, kissing his lips briefly before moving to whisper softly into his ear.

"Is everything ready?"

Sora nods once, subtly, reaching into his pocket to press the small ivory box into Riku's waiting hands. Riku quickly drops it into his own pocket, then reaches up to tug Sora's body closer to his.

"Shit, Sora, what are you wearing? I'm starting to want to forget about this whole job…" He laughs as Sora pulls back, giving him a reprimanding look. "I know, I know, we need the money. Here, kiss me and I'll get moving."

Granting Riku a shy smile, Sora tilts his head upward as Riku swiftly descends upon him. He willingly parts his lips, but he is the one to slide his tongue into Riku's mouth first, sliding the wet flesh along his lover's. Riku makes a small sound of appreciation at the feel of Sora's talented tongue, and pulls the brunet even more tightly against him, his hips gyrating to the loud beat of the music. Sora moves against him with perfect rhythm, his movements just as smooth and controlled as Riku's.

Several eyes follow them, some amused, most envious. Everyone in the club has at least heard of them, the _pela_ who dares to set his sights past his caste and the _mena_ able to see beyond his. It is an urban fairytale, the story of their love, and the people of the lower castes clung to the hope it brought them, the hope of a happiness that existed beyond the walls of Destati.

Riku slides his fingers down Sora's hips, becoming more demanding. Grinning, Sora rests his hands on his lover's waist and pushes away before the other man can become too aroused.

Riku growls a little, leaning down to take Sora's lips again, but the brunet places one hand over his mouth and lowers the other to tap his lover's watch, reminding Riku that they are _supposed_ to be working. Sighing at this, Riku reluctantly steps away from Sora's warm body with a nod, understanding the silent reminder.

As he turns to leave, he feels Sora's arms wrap around him from behind, enveloping him in a tight hug. He closes his eyes, rubbing his cheek against Riku's broad shoulders, then releases him with a sigh, patting him on the ass once to get him moving.

**Finding me is easy, but I _will _move to stop you, so remember to keep on your toes.**

11:35 pm

Calmly weaving through the crowd with a grace born of his own self-confidence, Riku pulls the box out of his pocket and glances at it, taking note of the strange eye shaped tessellation designed on it.

The box is supposed to be all that is needed to find and get to the mysterious person who commissioned this little game. The outside is the clue and what is inside will open the way there.

Riku snorts in disgust—their 'client' is obviously someone from one of the higher castes, probably the snobbish _gaina,_ the rich nobility. Bored as they are with light work and more money than they need, one of their greatest pastimes is to think up these little games and force the lower castes to play them. The games are always dangerous, especially the one named Karma that the ruler of the city runs. Karma is deadly to play, and rumor has it that the ruling caste, the _danara_, secretly call it 'population control'.

Dropping the box back into his pocket, Riku continues onward with and tossing his head haughtily. He would not even play _this_ game if it were not for the insanely huge prize of ten thousand credits. He cannot do much with the money himself, being the _pela_ that he is, but the money can certainly help Sora…

Shifting through the crowd again, Riku moves decisively towards the restrooms. The design on the box is almost identical to the design on the wall to the far side of the stalls in the men's room. The spot is almost perfectly hidden by those self-same stalls, and Riku only remembers it because he and Sora frequent that spot when they need a semi-private area and Sora can not get a private room for them. Smiling, Riku thinks back on the times he had Sora pressed against the cold tiles of that wall, the brunet clinging to him desperately…

Riku is just getting into his daydream when a patron knocks into him without apology, sending him stumbling forward a few steps. He glares after the man though he is actually angry with himself. What if that had been someone sent to stop him? Perhaps he should be focusing on the job… Thoughts like those can cause him to be late…or get him killed.

Casually pressing past the heavily decorated door that leads to the men's restroom, Riku let his eyes sweep the area to assess the situation.

Thick, gray smoke blankets the air, and what few patrons using the facilities are off in a corner, contributing to the squalid pollutant. Riku makes a face as he ventures further in, but he actually welcomes the smoke— it offers perfect cover. He would hate for someone to notice what he is doing and follow him.

Riku reaches into his pocket as he nears the decorated wall, pulling out the ivory box in his pocket and opening it to reveal a small, wire-like key. The keyhole should be hidden somewhere in the design. Riku runs his hands along the tiles, wondering if this task was best left up to Sora; those eyes of his were much better than Riku's— they never miss a single detail.

The door to the restroom is suddenly slammed open, allowing the smoke to clear somewhat as three large men enter the room and head for the stalls. The two men smoking take one look at them and hurry from the room, able to discern through their drug-induced haze that the spot is about to become dangerous.

Riku turns and smiles darkly at the three large men.

"Predictable."

The first person, a rather ugly man that Riku immediately decides looks like gorilla, narrows his beady eyes and quickly crosses the distance between himself and the young _pela_ fist-first. Snorting, Riku dodges, moving swiftly to his right. With all of his weight thrown behind the punch, gorilla-boy stumbles a little, giving Riku an opening to attack. Lifting his left leg straight up in the air, Riku drops it in a beautiful axe-kick, the attack connecting with the man's shoulder and sends him tumbling to the floor, dazed.

The next man springs at Riku with a flurry of kicks and punches, his movements more precise and controlled than his companion. Riku dances around the dark-haired kickboxer, dodging each strike by the barest margin and making the other man feel like a fool.

Meanwhile, the last man, the bow-legged leader of the group steps forward, nodding at the man on the floor. Gorilla-boy reaches a hand out and catches one of Riku's ankles, holding him still so the kickboxer has a better chance at landing a blow. Riku frowns, ducking under a punch from the dark-haired man, raising his free leg in a swift kick that catches him in the chin and sends him stumbling back.

Before he can mount an attack on the man holding his ankle, Riku is grabbed by his silver hair and slammed forcefully into the wall, hard enough to stun him for a moment. The bow-legged leader pins his arms behind his back, while the beady-eyed man on the floor keeps his legs still. The kickboxer shakes his head to clear it, then walks back over with a scowl to a squirming Riku.

"Try some clever shit like that again and we'll break your fuckin' limbs." The kickboxer snarls, leaning forward to frisk Riku. He finds the small ivory box and pulls it out of the smaller male's pocket, standing when he is finished.

"Rrrrgh!" Riku growls, struggling as the box is taken.

The third man holding his arms pinned releases one of his arms to knock Riku's head forcefully into the wall.

"Shut up!"

With that, the three release Riku, letting him fall to the floor as they make their way toward the door to leave. Riku picks himself up off the ground and leans against the wall, holding a hand to his face and laughing softly.

One of the men who had attacked him turns to look at him quizzically, but the one behind him gives him little push.

"Just leave him, he's crazy."

Riku laughs harder. "You guys are so fucking predictable!" With that he pulls a small key out of his mouth, a perfect replica of the key in the box, slipped to him by Sora when the brunet kissed him earlier.

"Not only are you predictable, but you're really fucking stupid too." Riku's laughter dies away and his voice becomes low and controlled. "You helped me find the keyhole, you fucks."

Without wasting another second, Riku slams the key into the center of the wall, right where the 'eye' is. The wall slides open, allowing Riku to fall into the hall hidden behind it. Riku gives the three men a little wave as he does so, and when the door slides back, he grits his teeth and slams his fist into the mechanism that moves the door several times to damage it. Stepping back, he holds his now bleeding hand, trying to will away the throbbing pain.

"Shit, that _hurt_…"

Sora is going to kill him for this stunt; Riku could have waited till the men left the room, but he wants them to know that he had used them to help him.

"I'd better get moving. There might be something else set out to stop me."

**If you are clever enough, you should have no problems.**

11:50 pm

Breathing heavily, Riku races along the narrow hallway, nursing his injured hand. He shortly comes up on a long set of stairs that he quickly climbs, keeping his eyes open for any attacks. The hallway is eerily quiet, the only sounds coming from Riku's own hurried footsteps.

As he hurries along, his sensitive hearing catches a slick clicking sound. Just as several sharp spikes drop from the ceiling, he flattens against the wall, watching them bury into the floor.

"Damn, what a sadistic bastard." Riku hisses, noticing that a spike has sliced through his pants. "I'm glad I didn't send Sora to do this…"

Carefully stepping around the around the spikes, Riku continues down the hall, a little more cautiously than he had been previously, mindful of the fact that there may be more traps ahead.

Luckily, there was none, and he soon comes to a large set of brightly polished steel doors.

"There has to be a trap here." Riku mutters under his breath. He studies the door, particularly the skull-shaped knobs which seem to maliciously grin at him. "Maybe the door is electrocuted…or the doorknobs inject a fast acting poison…"

Sighing loudly, knowing he is running out of time, Riku jerks off the outer shirt he has on and wraps it around his right hand and knocks on the door, listening carefully to perceive if there is a mechanism in the door that operates a deadly trap.

The door suddenly swings open, making Riku jump back in surprise. A small blond boy gazes out at him, his large brown eyes full of an amused curiosity. Riku stares in disbelief, thinking that this _could not_ be who is running this game, it simply could not…

"…Mr. Okami…?" Riku asks in a strained voice.

"No, but I will take you to him. This way please."

Riku breathes an audible sigh of relief; he would not know what to do if it was indeed a child making him jump through hoops.

He follows the small boy into a lavish office decorated in a Chinese-style with bold colors, lots of plants and huge windows. The boy stops in front of a large black lacquered desk trimmed with gold. Seated at the desk is a man in a deep blue Chinese-style shirt with wolves embroidered on the right sleeve in silver thread. He is leaning back in his large, black leather chair, right arm propped on the armrest, face resting in his palm.

He gazes at Riku, pale blue eyes glittering mischievously. Riku grins at him, proudly lifting his chin and crossing his arms.

"Mr. Okami, I've won your game."

The man before him does not move save to allow an amused smile to cross his lips.

"Oh?"

_Author's Nonsense: _

_Yes, I did have the nerve to end it here. Kill me if you must, but if you have read any of my other works, you will know that I am fond of cliff-hangers._

_I have to thank the wonderful Uzumaki-sama for beta-ing this story. bows I owe you big! Thanks!_

_Seeing this is the end of the prologue, I don't have much to say except REVIEW! I would really like to know how you liked this story, so please, please review!_

_Whelp, I'm going now. If you want to reach me for any strange reason, you can e-mail me at the next chapter, then! _

_Ciao!_


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